Multidisciplinary Second Opinion Centers

Many cancer patients are dying, not because treatments are not available, but because the initial physician failed to offer the best possible treatment. Cancer is an unusual disease for many reasons – if you don’t treat it properly the first time, often there is no second chance because cancer grows geometrically.

Often an initial treatment precludes the proper treatment from being given later. Doctors are humans and could make a mistake. Rarely is cancer diagnosed by an oncologist (It is generally diagnosed by an optometrist, gynecologist, urologist, dermatologist, GI, GP, etc.) and that doctor may not want to lose the revenue or admit that someone knows more than he does. Of most importance is not what treatments a patient receives or from whom, but that the patient is entitled to make an informed decision. Being told that nothing can be done, that surgery is required tomorrow or take these pills and come back in 90 days is not making an informed decision.

A recent press release by the National Cancer Policy Board was a giant step in the right direction. They stated what poor treatment Americans are receiving for cancer. Many doctors are simply not knowledgeable about the most recent treatment developments, according to their report. Research shows, for example, that Tamoxifen is the best treatment for post-menopausal women with breast cancer that has spread to lymph nodes, but only 60% of such women receive the drug.

The National Cancer Institute has stated that if physicians would use the recommended treatments in Physician Data Query today, some 10% of those dying from cancer could be saved. Ernest and Isadora Rosenbaum, oncologists and authors of an article in this publication, state, “Over 50 percent of persons diagnosed with it (cancer) can be cured, and the rate increases to 75 percent when good preventive and diagnostic procedures are followed.” In other words, they imply that prompt proper treatment could reduce cancer mortality 50%! Prompt second opinions upon diagnosis would save between 50,000 and 250,000 American lives annually. The ultimate solution is a multidisciplinary second opinion. This is where a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist and surgeon, if their specialty is applicable to the specific type of cancer, review a case and discuss it openly together in front of the patient. This way a patient understands all their options and is able to make an informed decision.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY SECOND OPINION INSTITUTIONS

Updated April 11, 2013The following institutions have advised they will, when requested by a cancer patient, provide a second opinion or a multidisciplinary second opinion.

BL indicates the institution provides bilingual assistance.

ST

CITY

BL

CENTER

CONTACT

PHONE

AL

Birmingham

Birmingham Baptist Medical Center

Bob Princeton

205-783-7484

AL

Huntsville

Crestwood Medical Center

Pam Hudson, MD

256-880-4161

AL

Mobile

University of South Alabama Hospitals - Mobile Infirmary Medical Center